1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a piloting device for piloting a vehicle, in particular a vehicle comprising at least one aerodynamic or hydrodynamic control surface, such as an aircraft or a watercraft.
Throughout the text, the term “piloting” and its derivatives denote, unless otherwise stated, the steering of a vehicle by a human pilot operating at least one piloting member such as a stick, handle, rudder bar, pedal, etc.
Traditionally, a piloting device for piloting a vehicle comprises at least one piloting member mounted and guided in rotation on at least one pivot joint about an axis with respect to a frame, and the information from rotation of the piloting member with respect to the frame is used to control the position and/or the displacements of the vehicle. Particularly in the case of a mini-stick for piloting an aircraft, the piloting member is mounted and guided in rotation on two pivot joints of orthogonal and intersecting axes (forming a centre-point joint).
2. Description of the Related Art
A first embodiment of such a piloting device, for example described in the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,566, consists in mounting the piloting member on two first pivot joints of orthogonal axes on idler arms which are themselves articulated by two other pivot joints on the frame. Such an assembly is heavy and bulky and moreover has the disadvantage of using generally eight pivot bearings, which increases the probability of seizing of one of these bearings.
A second embodiment of such a piloting device, for example described in the document EP 0 352 417, consists in mounting the piloting member on a first pivot joint with respect to an intermediate framework, and articulating this intermediate framework with respect to the fixed frame on a second pivot joint of axes orthogonal to and intersecting that of the first joint. However, when it is necessary to provide for a return of the piloting member to a predetermined position, usually at the centre of the displacement range, or “neutral” position, for example by means of elastic return elements, all the return elements for returning the piloting member to its neutral position with respect to the intermediate framework are installed on the latter, increasing its bulkiness and its inertia.